Tetanus

Overview

Tetanus, or lockjaw, is a bacterial infection that is characterized by painful muscle spasms, serious complications, and can lead to eventual death. Tetanus is not transmitted from person-to-person. A person usually becomes infected with tetanus when dirt enters a wound or cut.

Tetanus germs are likely to grow in deep puncture wounds caused by dirty nails, knives, tools, wood splinters, and animal bites. The disease is caused by a potent neurotoxin that is produced by the bacteria in the absence of oxygen.

People of all ages can get tetanus but it can be prevented by the administration of tetanus toxoid, which induces specific antitoxins. To prevent maternal and neonatal tetanus, tetanus toxoid needs to be given to the mother before or during pregnancy, and clean delivery and cord care needs to be ensured.

The disease is particularly common and serious in newborn babies. This is called neonatal tetanus and most infants die who get the disease. Neonatal tetanus is particularly common in rural areas where most deliveries are at home without adequate sterile procedures.

People who recover from tetanus do not have natural immunity and can be infected again and therefore need to be immunized.

Disease Outbreak

There is no Disease Outbreak data at this time

Factsheet

Key Facts

Tetanus is acquired when the spores of the bacterium Clostridium Tetani infect a wound or a newborn's umbilical stump.

These spores are universally present in the soil.

People of all ages can get tetanus but the disease is particularly common and serious in newborn babies (neonatal tetanus).

Neonatal tetanus, which is mostly fatal, is particularly common in rural areas where deliveries are at home without adequate sterile procedures.

Neonatal tetanus requires treatment in a medical facility, often in a referral hospital.

Prevention

Tetanus can be prevented through immunization with tetanus-toxoid (TT) containing vaccines.

Neonatal tetanus can be prevented by immunizing women of childbearing age with TT, either during pregnancy or outside of pregnancy. This protects the mother and – and through a transfer of tetanus antibodies to the fetus – also her baby.

Clean practices when a mother is delivering a child are also important to prevent neonatal and maternal tetanus.

People who recover from tetanus do not have natural immunity and can be infected again and therefore need to be immunized.

To be protected for life, an individual should receive 3 doses of diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis vaccine in infancy, followed by a TT-containing booster at school-entry age (4-7 years), in adolescence (12-15 years), and in early adulthood.

Elimination goal

The global neonatal tetanus elimination goal was launched at the World Health Assembly in 1989 to reduce neonatal tetanus as a public health problem (defined as less than one case of neonatal tetanus per 1,000 live births in every district) in all countries.

The Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) Elimination Initiative was launched by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), WHO and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in 1999, revitalizing the goal of MNT elimination as a public health problem. Maternal tetanus was added as it is assumed to be eliminated once neonatal tetanus elimination has been achieved.

Currently, the target year for global elimination of MNT is 2015.

Within the partnership1, partners bring in their own field of expertise:

Once MNT elimination has been achieved, maintaining elimination will require continued strengthening of routine immunization activities for both pregnant women and children, maintaining and increasing access to clean deliveries, reliable NT surveillance, and introduction of school-based immunization, where feasible.

Global progress 1999-2011

Over 113 million women of child bearing age were reached with 2 doses of TT.

WHO estimates that in 2008 (the latest year for which estimates are available), 50,000 newborns died from neonatal tetanus, a 92% reduction from the situation in the late 1980s.

34 countries have yet to eliminate MNT4.

WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA have been joined by other partners including Becton Dickinson (BD), USAID, CDC, Immunisation Basics, Government of Japan and JICA, Save the Children, GAVI, Procter&Gamble (Pampers), PATH, RMHC, the Gates Foundation, UNICEF National committees and governments throughout the world and most recently the Kiwanis International.